Across the Universe
by chocolatemooses
Summary: You never really appreciate your right hand as much as you do after it gets cut off. Tony gets a taste of his own medicine when Pepper disappears. TS/PP.
1. Prologue

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Prologue

AN: I recently went camping with some of my friends at June Lake and it seriously got some creative juices moving. I am still stuck on From the Very Beginning but this new story has lots of promise. I have basically the whole thing worked out in my mind, so I should be able to update pretty frequently. Please comment, everything is welcome. Creative criticism is greatly appreciated, it really helps my writing. Enjoy!

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Since his time in Afghanistan Tony has become, for all intensive purposes, a changed man. In all the important ways, at least. He still watched a beautiful woman sway her hips as she walked away, he still would make his assistant's life a general headache, and he still would skip big "important" corporate meetings. But he was, for all intensive purposes, a changed man. But even changed men have relapses.

Most recently has been his unhealthy; Pepper's words not his, work binge. For the past two weeks he had been working un-relentlessly on his battered, iron suit. During this time he had ignored everything but the red and gold metal of his super-costume. He had ignored all of Pepper attempts to get him to the leave the basement, all of Rhodey's messages-ranging from furious anger to distressed worry-, everyone of S.H.I.E.L.D's attempts at contacting him (by the way, who the hell did that Nick Fury think he was?), and-most disturbing in retrospect-he had ignored all of Jarvis's concerned reports on Pepper's repeated incidents of tardiness. Lateness on Pepper's part hadn't happened once in the seven years she had been in his employment, if he hadn't been so wrapped up in his work he would have immediately seen this as some kind of warning sign. But he had ignored all of the outside world for the shining gold and red of idealism and his damned ego-driven heroics.

When he finally emerged from his isolation he was surprised to immediately run into an uncharacteristically flustered Pepper who dropped an armful of papers she had been holding unceremoniously on his bare feet.

Laughing good naturedly, he crouched down on his heels, gathering the papers around his toes. He glanced up at Pepper, who was trying the straighten the remaining papers in her hands, and marveled at how much he missed seeing flustered and annoyed Pepper in his daily life.

He got up and handed her the files, saying, "My, my Miss Potts what flew up your skirt? As far as I know I haven't done anything to piss you off recently." He paused, "well, not more than usual."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "It's good to see you too, Mr. Stark. And for once it isn't you that has me in this condi-" Before she could finish her cell phone rang shrilly, as though it was trying to convey that the caller was just as impatient as the piercing ringing. With an exasperated sigh, she held up one finger to silence him.

"Hello, Miss Potts." Another tired sigh, but this time it was more to herself than to the person on the phone. "Yes, Mr. Chambers, he was just about to sign the last of the projections." She gave him a look and tapped at the papers in her carefully manicured hand. "Half are at my house and the rest are still at Stark Industries." Another pause. "Well, _sir_, you were the one who moved up the due date on the reports by a week. I would have had them ready a week from now, but not today." She was silent once again but this time she didn't even look like she was paying attention to the voice on the other line. "No, I am going to Stark Industries right now then I have to stop at my house to pick up the rest of the files. I should be able to get them to you by," she checks her watch, "7:30." A pause. "Okay. Did you get all of that Stace? Okay, see you soon I guess. Bye."

Tony quirked his eyebrow curiously, idly playing with the hem of his shirt sleeve. It wasn't a sign of nervousness, he just could never stand still longer than a few seconds. Glancing up at his assistant, he asked, "What was all that about?"

"That was Justin Chambers, he needs the stock projections on the new arc reactor tech. The projections were originally due a week from now but Mr. Chambers," He noted with some humor that she said his name far more venomously than she had ever said his, "moved the due date to today." She said all of this in a rushed push of air. "So," she continued, derailing any of his attempts at making a smart remark, "I need you to sign these," she shoved the papers in his face, "right away." He said nothing an annoyed glare was his way. "As in now, Tony."

With a shit-eating grin on his face, he took the papers from her and flew through them with a fast hand. Pepper watched his with a strangely serene stare, as though she thought getting him to sign was to be the most aggravating part of the day (normally he would agree with her but he had driven in LA traffic during rush hour, he had nothing on that).

Handing her the papers back, he gave her his most charming smile. "You know you love me." He stated this as a fact, undisputable and undeniable.

Pepper simply rolled her eyes but he could see her valiant attempts at trying to hide her smile. Her old humor returned, "In your dreams Mr. Stark."

With that she turned on her heels and strode up the remaining stairs. Tony followed her and leaned casually against the wall of the hallway, watching her hips sway slightly as she sauntered away. After a moment, he was finally able to tear his eyes away from her retreating figure and make his way to the kitchen, fully intending to devour most of it contents.

If Tony had known that within the next few hours his beloved assistant's face would be nothing but a bloody caved in mess, he would have grabbed her by the shoulders, held on to her, and never ever let her go.

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AN: Don't worry, this is a Tony/Pepper story. So please read on, I promise a happy ending.


	2. Losing

Title: Across the Universe  
Chapter 2: Losing  
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man

AN: Okay, so this was incredibly depressing. I am sorry to all of those fluff seekers but this story is pretty sad to start out but trust me that there will be eventual fluff. So please comment. The more you all comment, the more I write. Enjoy!

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When Tony had been in Afghanistan he had thought little of his life waiting for him back in the States. He told himself that this was because he was too preoccupied with the whole not being killed thing to really think about home. That was partially true; if he was completely honest with himself the main reason he forced his thoughts away from his lonely mansion in Malibu was because he would have been forced to realize how few people truly cared if he lived or died. So, consequentially, he had never considered what Pepper, Rhodey, and, to a degree, Jarvis went through during his disappearance. He had seen the relief in Rhodes' eyes when he first found him and he had been told by both Jarvis and Obidiah that Pepper had missed him greatly, but he had never really allowed himself to empathizes with his friends. It wasn't out of malice or even dispassion, Tony just wasn't the kind of guy who dwelt on his feelings or the feelings of others too often.

So, at 9:23 P.M., Tony Stark was basically blindsided.

He was zoning out on the couch. It happened every time he went on a working binge since he was seven years old. He would work for days without stop, his brain on high alert for hours on end. When he finally finished or allowed himself to stop he would first devour a small country's worth of food, then he would flick on the TV, and his brain would just shutdown like an overheated laptop. The first time it had happened his mother had found him lying on the floor in the middle of his room, completely oblivious to the world. Maria Stark had screamed bloody murder and rushed him to the doctor, positive something was wrong with her precious little boy. At the hospital, the doctor had assured his mother that it was a completely understandable that his mind would need a break after all that work it had been doing. Now, it was almost a ritual. After every long work session he would eat and plop down on his couch with cartoons blaring in the background.

As he got older the amount of time he zoned out got shorter. So, when the phone rang that day he had almost immediately snapped out of his trance. Taking a moment to regain his bearings, he sleepily rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and stretched like a big mountain lion, his hands in the air and his toes curled.

He grabbed clumsily at the receiver. "Hello?" His voice was hoarse and weak, he cleared his throat.

"Mr. Stark, this is Detective Mills, I need to speak to you…it is important."

Tony sat up so quickly that his head began to spin, he ignored it. He could feel something dark growing in the pit of his stomach. "What's this about?"

"Mr. Stark, do you know where a Miss Virginia Potts is?"

The bottom was falling out of his stomach; he tried desperately to keep it, to keep himself, from falling. His voice now had a tinge of panic to it and he realized that he was on his feet. "Detective, what the fuck is going on?"

There was a long silence and Tony had to restrain himself from screaming at the officer on the other line. The detective continued in a robotic voice that sounded eerily similar to Jarvis's, "Mr. Stark, today at 9:14 Miss Stacy Keller found Virginia Potts in her house with a gunshot wound to the head. She was dead long before the ambulance arrived."

Tony couldn't breathe, he sank slowly into the sofa, his legs suddenly Jello. "No. No. No. No. Pepper, she…she is a..at, with Chambers." He couldn't speak properly, he could only stutter. "Ju-Justin Chambers. She was g-going to work, and then t-to her…" He drifted off, unable to continue his throat closing up.

Detective Mills took advantage of his silence and continued, "Mr. Stark, it looks like this was a kidnapping gone wrong. From what we can tell there were two men, they surprised Miss Potts and tried to overpower her. However, she fought back and, from what we can guess, that was how she ended up shot."

Ice water ran through his veins as the detectives words registered. His stomach filled with lead and he clenched his fists. Steel was in his voice as he questioned the detective. "Do you have any other leads?"

Tony's tone disallowed any arguments about protocol on Mills' part. "Not really, we had actually hoped that you could tell us of any recent threats made against you."

His fingers itched and the guilt loomed on the horizon but a new project narrowed his vision. All he could think of now was finding the men who did this and causing them as much pain as humanly possible. Even that wouldn't be enough. "Thank you detective. I hope you catch the men who did this." His voice held no emotion and Mills felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head.

Sounding braver than her felt, Mills replied, "Mr. Stark, I can't imagine what you are feeling right now but I am telling you that you need to let us take care of it. Please for you own sake, don't do anything rash."

Tony was already halfway to the basement. "Thank you Mills. Please keep me updated." With that he hung up the phone, violently.

When in the basement he makes his way to his wall of computers. "Jarvis, bring up the surveillance videos of Miss Potts' condo from 5:30 to 9:30."

"Sir, I don't think that you should be-"

"Jarvis," Tony barked, "I didn't ask for you to say anything, just bring up the tapes."

"But, sir, I think-"

Tony slammed his fist on the table; he could feel his control slipping away. He needed to focus only on finding the people who hurt Pepper. He _needed_ to. "No, that's where you are wrong. You don't think. You are a machine, I think for you. Do you understand? You do as you are told and I am telling you to just bring up the videos, that is all."

There is a long silence and under other circumstances he would have felt bad. But right now he felt nothing. Nothing at all.

Finally, "Yes, sir."

The computers flared to life and then a moment later, the entrances of Pepper's expensive condo appear on his screen. He watched them intently for a minute, but soon lost his patience. "Fast forward."

The image began to move imperceptibly faster. Eventually some movement caught his eye. "Normal speed." The video slowed down just as two men appeared on screen. One was tall, at least six foot five, the other was about a foot shorter than his counterpart but he looked like he was in far better shape. They wore all black and dark baseball caps; it twisted his stomach but he could see right away that these guys were amateurs. He watched as they attempted to break into each window and back door. Eventually the shorter one got sick of the tall one's attempts at picking the lock and smashed one of her kitchen windows. They argued for a moment, the tall one clearly agitated by his partner's actions he even smacked him across the head in a sick parody of a Laurel and Hardy movie, the humanity of it all made his throat burn with disgust. He prayed that the men would look up at the cameras but he had no such luck, they entered the house and out of the range of the cameras. "Fast forward." The screen once again sped up. His eyes burned and he lost all ability to think when he saw Pepper into her house from her dark garage. She wasn't walking with her usual briskness and he felt a horrible sense of guilt over the fact that he was the cause of her tiredness. What seemed like hours later, the men reappeared on the screen; he slowed the picture and then he vomited over the side of his worktable. They were covered in blood from head to toe, one of them even slipped slightly from the bloody sole of his shoe. They both looked like they were shaking. As the tall one wiggled his way out of the window he looked directly at the camera.

In a hoarse and broken voice he said, "Jarvis take a picture of that..thing's…face." A little later the short man made the same mistake. He had them.

Shutting off the computer he told Jarvis to run the men's face against all records, even to hack into the DMV database. While Jarvis worked on the men's identities Tony went to the suit. He ran his hands over the cold metal. He touched the bright red, it reminded him chillingly of the blood that was on the two men's hands and he felt the familiar sense of overwhelming emotion. He promised himself to take away the red from his suit, it only sickened him.

Pushing away all feeling, he stepped on the platform and closed his eyes as his robots methodically pieced the suit on bit by bit. Once he was fully suited-up he spoke into his headset, "Do you have there known residences?"

"Yes, sir. I have already have programmed them into the suit."

He said nothing. The suit powered up and he had never felt so revolted by the smell of iron, it reminded him of blood. So much blood. When the suit was at full power he launched himself away from his garage, feeling a strange sense of vertigo as he flew through the sky. In the air, it oddly felt like he was running away. Maybe he was, he could give a fuck.

Only five minutes later, he arrived in Whittier. The stars were out and the air was fresh and crisp, it seemed like a sick joke on Nature's (to Tony God no longer existed) part. How could the night be so lovely when it had just lost its brightest star?

Landing in front of an old house that was crawling with cats and smelled like it. "Is this it?" he spoke softly into the dead air.

"Yes, please, sir don't do anything you will regret."

Tony obliterated the door of the ancient house. "I won't." Without another word he entered the premises. Immediately he found its occupants; a man in his 30's his body covered in various tattoos came out from another room, a gun in his hand. Lightning fast Iron Man grabbed the man by his throat and had him pinned against the wall, his gun useless limp at his side.

"Where are you friends, Luis and John Franklin?" The man's face was now a pastel purple color and he could see he had popped a few blood vessels in his neck, the blood was pooling just under the skin. He sniffed the air, the man had pissed himself. It gave him a horrific sense of satisfaction. He loosened his grip on the man's trachea allowing him to talk.

"Th-they aren't here."

He re-tightened his grip. "Where are they?"

The man choked and gasped, trying to get enough air to keep breathing. "They work at a garage down the block. They are probably there." Iron Man looked at the leathery face of the, clearly, drug addicted man. Tightening for a second longer, he tossed the man across the room where he landed with a crunch on the wilting couch.

The man pulled up his hands over his head, he thought that he could hear him sniffling. "Fuck." He whispered.

Smiling behind his mask, Iron Man left the rat-hole of a house.

He barely had to fly to get to the mechanic shop that he had been informed of. They second he got there he knew something was wrong. The hinges on the front door were broken and the remaining door was hanging haphazardly on the last hinge.

Entering the garage, he was immediately greeted by the stench of blood and it was all he could do to not be sick again. He picked his way through the blood smears that littered the garage and was greeted by a sickening sight. The two men from the video were lying face up on the floor. The tall one's face was covered in blood but the killing wound was a gunshot to the gut, he had probably been bleeding for at least thirty minutes before he finally died. His brother was luckier, a single gunshot to the back of the skull, he died instantly. It was too good for him.

He stared at the two mangled body. A horrible sense of loss finally filled him. He clenched his gloved metal hands. Iron Man began to shake. "Fuck," he said quietly. "FUCK!" He began to chant it at the top of his lungs. Then, without warning, he grabbed the nearest set of tools and flung them across the room. He soon was throw, shooting, and smashing everything in his reach. All of the cars were soon mangled messes of scrap and the room looked like a tornado had gone through it. Finally when he ran out of breath and things to destroy, Tony sank to his knees, his suit getting stained with Pepper's killer's blood.

Tony sat there in the blood of murder's and cried harder than he ever had before. He cried until he forgot who he was because let's face it he was nothing without her.

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AN: Again please bear with me. I promise to make it all better, cross my heart and hope to die.


	3. Surviving

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Chapter: Surviving  
Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man...damn. TT

AN: Okay, so this is the peak of total depressingness of this story, don't want to say to much. I am not too sure about this chapter but I wanted to get it up today because I won't have time the next few days because today is my birthday and my friends are taking me to San Fransisco. And I will shamelessly beg and plead to please review, if not for the sake of my story then for me on my birthday. It would be an awesome present! Anyway, enjoy!

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As if she were Christ herself, Tony began counting time by the date of _her_ death.

The first day Tony went home and downed nearly every bottle of alcohol he owned before passing out. Rhodey found him unconscious in a pool of his own vomit.

On the second and third days Tony was nearly catatonic. He would simply wander from room to room, as if he was looking for something that invariably would never be found. Jarvis said nothing to him, although he did keep a very close eye on all of his vitals and when Tony had gone out to buy more alcohol, he had called Rhodes. His friend came to the house and quickly disposed of as much alcohol as possible, getting into a huge argument with Tony. Eventually, Tony-too tired and miserable to put up much of a fight-gave up and went to bed without too much of a fuss.

The fourth day was her funeral. Rhodey, fully dressed in his military attire, had driven to Stark Mansion, ready to use the jaws of life to get his friend to come to the funeral. He knew that Tony needed some closer. He arrived at the mansion at seven, the funeral being at nine, and was surprised to find a fully dressed and only slightly intoxicated Tony sitting quietly in her office. Rhodes watched his friend for a moment before coming into the room and sitting down somberly on the chair opposite of the desk. They both said nothing, even as they got into the car and drove to the cemetery.

The funeral was a small affair. She had only a few living family members, the closest being an aunt who was nearly sixty. When she saw Tony her eyes clouded over with anger and she began to cry uncontrollably. She stood as far as possible from the man, who she believed, caused the death of her beloved niece. The guilt in Tony's eyes was unfathomable; he couldn't even bear to look at the coffin and left before they began to shovel dirt into the cool ground. That night Rhodes stayed at the mansion. He told Tony it was because he didn't want to drive all the way back to the base but the truth was he didn't want to have to go to another funeral anytime soon.

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On the first week, Tony finally left her office, having basically camped there since the incident. He immediately went down to the basement and began taking away all the red in the room that he could find. He called Happy and had him take all of his hot rod red cars away. He told Happy to "sell them, give them away, destroy them. I don't care. I just never want to see them again." After he called Happy he went to work remove all the red from his Iron Man suit. He didn't have any of his numerous robots or programs take care of it; he did it himself, personally removing each piece of the suit and having it rebuilt to be the simple gold. A psychologist would have said that this was Tony's way of not only punishing himself but also trying to erase the memory of her death from his mind. Tony thought that all that psycho-babble was bullshit so he didn't even pause for a moment in his work.

He worked this way for weeks; seeing no one. Rhodes had called him every day, trying desperately to get him to come out of the basement. Tony eventually turned off all phones in his house and when Rhodey started showing up at the house he removed the glass wall and switched it to a metal barrier between him and the rest of the world. Stark Industries soon became manic at being unable to reach him, usually when he went on a working spree _she_ would have kept the company updated. Now they didn't even know if he was alive or dead.

The media was having a field day with the whole incident. Dateline specials about her death, CNN speculating how this will affect Stark Industries, and every news station and paper in the world inferring what they could about the nature of Tony Stark's relationship with his assistant.

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On the third week, Tony finally called Rhodes. He asked him come over to the house and he had rushed over as quickly as possible. When he got there he was surprised to find that, aside from the slight weight-loss and the gigantic bags under his eyes, Tony looked relatively unchanged. Cautiously he made his way into the workshop, not sure what was going on. Tony was wearing his usual white t-shirt with the hole cut in the front, the blue glow from the reactor a stark contrast to the dark room.

Tony stood up and shook his friend's hand. "Hey man," he said in a strangely hoarse voice, "how are you?"

Rhodes was somewhat relieved that he hadn't found Tony in some state of depression but was still slightly wary, "I could ask you the same. What have you been doing down here? A lot of people have been worried about you."

Tony made a scoffing noise and he saw a deadly look of anger cross his face. "Who? You and the people who see me as an investment?"

Rhodes tried to think of an argument but couldn't come up with a convincing one. Instead he looked around the workshop and asked, "So, what is it you wanted me to see."

Tony brightened up slightly, it still wasn't even remotely close to the level of excitement he used to have for his projects. He walked over to a darker corner of the basement and Rhodes followed. "Rhodey, I don't think I'm going to be up to much crime-fighting pretty soon. So, I am going to need your help." With that he drew back the sheet from what looked an awful like his Iron Man suit. Rhodes let his jaw drop slightly. It was a suit, almost exactly like Tony's but instead of gold and red it was silver. It also was a little bulkier and looked like it had _more_ weapons than Tony's.

Rhodey, his mouth still slightly opening, let out a low whistle. "Are you serious?" He glanced over at his friend and was surprised to find him staring at the suit with hatred.

"Yeah," he said in a muted voice, "I'm serious." He ran his hands silently over the metal. Rhodes' nerves were on edge as he watched the familiar desperation of that first week fill his eyes once again. They are both silent for a long moment. Finally, "Rhodey, I want you to find me an assistant." Rhodes' head shot up, unsure that he had heard Tony correctly. His friend's deathly expression told him that he had. Rhodes left the mansion less than five minutes later, he told Jarvis to keep a close eye on Tony.

It is a week after the first month when Rhodes finally found a woman who he felt would work well with Tony. Her name was Katrina Choi, she was 29 years-old, and had been studying engineering before she had to drop out from college due to the death of her father. She had told Rhodes honestly that she wanted to work with Tony Stark so that she could continue, on some level, her involvement in engineering. Upon hearing this he knew that she would never remind Tony of _her_, the fact that she was petite and Asian also helped. She was smart and efficient; she would definitely be an asset to Tony. But, most importantly, Katrina would never be able to take _her_ place.

It was a day and a week after the first month when Tony first met Katrina. It would be several weeks later before he even talked to her and nearly a month before he even began to discuss engineering with her. He seemed pleased enough with new assistant but he never allowed her to get any closer than the employer/employee relationship. Both were perfectly fine with this kind of arrangement.

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Month five was the worst. It was exactly five months since _her_ death, when Rhodey got a frantic phone call to his cell.

"Jim, you need to get here now!" said the frantic message from Katrina. Without a word, he high-tailed it out of the military base and broke, at least eight, traffic laws to get to Stark Mansion under thirty minutes.

He hurriedly entered the house and immediately ran into a frazzled looking Katrina. She held onto his hand tightly as he checked her for any injuries, still unsure what the call was about.

"Jim, I am so sorry." She sounded incredibly frightened, her hands shook as she tried to get her bearings while still clinging to him. "I didn't know what to do so I called you. It was the anniversary of her death but I completely forgot and I-I didn't know he had a gun in the house." At those words Rhodes all but ran into the living room, where music could be heard playing.

He entered the room and he was able to breathe again. Tony sat, hunched over the couch playing with a small revolver in his hands. He was staring intently at the shining gun and was stroking it softly from muzzle to trigger. Tony didn't look even remotely depressed, although his skin was a sickly pale and his eyes still held bags but he had looked that way for the past five months. Rhodes felt Katrina touch him lightly on his shoulder. "I told him that if he shot himself in front of me I would be mentally scarred forever and I asked him to at least wait until you got here," she whispered quietly into his ear, sending chills down his spine. "He said I have to leave as soon as you got here."

Nodding, Rhodes walked into the room and cleared his throat loudly. Tony merely glanced up before looking over at Katrina. "He's here now," he said, sounding disturbingly serene, "you should go now."

She looked between the two men, not wanting to leave the situation no matter how explosive it could be. Taking her hand into his own, Rhodey tried to look reassuring, "Go ahead and go Kat. I got this."

She squeezed his hand. "Are you sure?"

He glanced backwards at Tony who was watching the exchange with interest. "Yeah, we're fine. I will call you later." With that, he gently let her hand go and she began to back out of the room slowly, her eyes never leaving Rhodes until the last second when she turned to Tony.

"So, don't forget," she said pointedly at her boss, "tomorrow, you have three important conference calls and I still want to figure out how you got the thrusters for the suit to work at supersonic levels. Okay?" Her voice only shook slightly at the end. She gave Tony a hopeful and somewhat demanding look. He simply waved his hand at her, signaling that it was time for her to leave. Sighing, she shot Rhodes one last look. "Take care." And then she was gone, leaving the two friends alone.

Cautiously, Rhodey turned his attention to his best friend who was still holding the gun like it was a kitten, petting it gently. He tried to remember the protocol and training that he had received specifically for these types of situations but he knew that this was different. This was Tony, the military had yet to come up with any type of system that could truly handle him.

"You like her, don't you." Rhodes jumped slightly at Tony's unexpected comment.

Sitting down on the couch across from him, he asked, "Who?"

"Katrina." He stated, eyes still locked onto the muzzle of the gun. "I've noticed that you spend a lot of time in her office when you are here."

"Oh, so you're spying on me now?" He asked in a lame attempt to lighten the mood, which was quite difficult when a man only a few feet away was playing with a gun.

"No, not really. I would just ask Jarvis where you were and he always seemed to say in Katrina's office. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the rest."

"Yeah, well that is where you are wrong, Einstein. I just happen to find that Katrina's office is the most comfortable room in the house. I really only see Miss Choi as a friend." He knew that was a lame argument but he hoped to distract Tony in some way.

"Yeah, and I'm not an alcoholic," he shot back, with some humor. This lasted only a moment though because the next second his dark expression returned. "You can't have a relationship with her." It wasn't a demand or even a warning. It was stated as a fact.

"Oh, really," he said, still trying to go for humor. "What are you, her father?"

"No," Tony responded sounding somewhat angry now, "but you are War Machine now and any woman you are with will always be in constant danger. And I don't feel much like breaking in a new assistant."

Rhodey cringed. It was true for the past two months he had been working with Tony as the War Machine (Tony chose the name, not him). The training and the mission hadn't been much tougher than his military service, just different. But Rhodes had been finding that just having that kind of responsibility to the people of the world was more difficult than any type mission or job he had ever had while serving in the army. Sighing inwardly, he silently conceded defeat. He knew that no matter how much he enjoyed Kat's company (which was a great deal, although he would never tell Tony he was right), he could never put her in any kind of danger.

"Well, it's a good thing I am not interested in her then."

Both men are silent, each lost in their thoughts. Rhodes trying to figure out how to diffuse the dangerous situation they were in. And Tony was so lost in his thoughts (had been for the past five months) that he was having a hard time even making a clear sentence. He tried to make sense of his jumbled mind, so he could convey himself to his last living confidant.

Unsure how to say how he feels, Tony just lets it all out, for the first time in five months. "I don't think I can do it. I tried to follow the plan but it is just so fucking hard. At night, I sometimes think I can hear her and if I am ever able to fall asleep, all I ever see is her. She follows me. I hear her voice while I am working or the click of her heels and I stop and wait for her to come down to the basement but she never does. I sit there and wait, looking like an idiot. She never ever comes back. Sometimes I forget she is gone and call her name, needing her for some stupid project of mine. She never answers. It is too hard, I know that I have to finish what I started but I don't think I am strong enough. All I ever have been is a spoiled brat who gets treated special because he can do some cool tricks. I am not good enough, not brave enough. I just want it all to be over. It would be so much easier."

As he says all of this he turns the gun this way and that in his hand, moving it closer and closer to his face. Rhodes felt himself begin to sweat, this was escalating far faster than he had expected.

"No, Tony, no. You are strong enough, you will get through this." Rhodes stood up, vehemently trying to get through to his buddy. "You are more than a spoiled brat, you are Iron Man. You have to get through this."

Tony merely shook his head. Rhodes decided that perhaps tough love was a better approach. "You self-absorbed asshole! You know what you are right, you are a spoilt child. You have so much important work to do and so much responsibility, not only to your friends but to the world. Your arc reactor technology is going to change the world for the better, not to mention all the leaps and bounds you have made in the past few months with medical tech. And don't even get me started on all of the families and lives that you still need to protect as Iron Man. But, no, you are going to disregard all of those people because it is too _hard_. Well, fuck you!" Rhodey was breathing heavily, praying that his tirade got through to him in the way that only yelling and cursing could between guys.

There is a long moment were both men stare down each other. Each, trying to convince the other that they were the correct party. But again, Tony was weakened by her death. Truthfully, without her, he probably would never have the same kind of fight that he possessed before. Not to say that he would ever become a push over, but he would never have the kind of self-assuredness that he had had with her.

Tony conceded, "She would want me to finish my work."

Rhodes nodded in agreement, "She would never have wanted this for you." Tony gently placed the gun on the coffee table and Rhodey practically lunged at it. Without even a parting word, Tony got up and went back to his lair underneath his house, presumably to go back to working, once again.

As Rhodey watched his broken friend leave he prayed to God to send some kind of relief to Tony. He was hanging on his last thread and Rhodes wasn't sure he could hold on much longer.

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It was the sixth month, twelfth day, sixth hour, and twenty-fifth minute, when Tony walked into his living room to find Pepper Potts waiting patiently for him on his couch.

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AN: DUN DUN DUH!! Cliffhanger! I suck, I know. Review so I have more motivation to actually get on my laptop in San Fran!


	4. Finding

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Chapter: Finding  
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man, darn.

AN: Thanks so much to all my reviewers, what a great present. I had so many reviews that the second I got home I immediately sat down and wrote this. I am pretty sure that this is going to be a pretty big story. I am also debating whether or not uping the rating. It depends on how much time plot takes up. Anyhoo. Here is chapter four, please review. Enjoy.

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Have you ever had one of those moments? You know a moment where everything slows down and moves in Matrix slow motion. A moment where your body shakes and your palms begin to sweat. Where your body kicks up the adrenaline and you are torn between staying paralyzed and running for the hills. Where you try to move from your stationary position, try to think something beyond: "What the hell am I going to do now?".

If you haven't then it may be a little hard for you to sympathize with Pepper at this moment.

She sat there on his couch, her hair was now short and her red hair held more definite streaks of blonde now. It was pulled back into a little ponytail, and her bangs brushed the tops of her eyelids. She was dressed in a summery green dress that was appropriate for the warm June day, her toes peaking out of a pair of open-toed flats. Her eyes had been hazel an hour ago before she had stopped at an AM/PM to remove her color contact. Bu now her natural blue eyes were brighter than they had been for months even as they started to film over with unshed tears. She gripped the sofa tightly, trying to regain some of the strength that had overtaken her and gave her the will to drive from the valley to LA for five hours and fifty-five minutes non-stop.

But her energy and will were being drained by the sight of the broken man who stood in the doorway. And it was clear to see that the man who watched her unflinching was not the same Tony Stark that she had left six months ago. This was a different creature altogether. He wore no shirt and, although he was still toned, he was at least ten pounds lighter than the Tony she knew. The bags under his eyes were something that would have hardly ever graced his face before but now they seemed as if they had been a permanent staple for a while. At first glance, that was the extent of the change in Tony but Pepper, having spent years at his side, could see the subtle differences that would have gone unlooked by most people. His shoulders were stooped and his posture tired, contrary to the old Tony who walked around like he ruled the world (which could arguably be true to some extent). His thin hands hung limply at his sides and the former unbridled energy he used to carry, that would cause him to fidget and twitch with the need to just _do_ something, was completely gone. But most frightening of all were his eyes. The warm, brown eyes that used to convey so much emotion and feeling were now cold and unseeing. He practically looked past her; and beyond the first sign of surprise (not shock, surprise; as though she had come into work an hour late instead of six months late) he betrayed no other reaction to her sudden reappearance.

She had tried on the drive here to come up with some sort of opening line for when this moment came. She had racked her brain for thousands of different ways to explain herself but all seemed as ridiculous as the next. She'd tried casual, "Hi, Tony. Long time no see." Stupid. She had tried professional, "Hello Mr. Stark. I am terribly sorry about leaving on such short notice; I am sure that I have tons of e-mails waiting for me." Who needs that kind of denial? She had decided to go for blunt and somewhat defensive. "Hey, Tony I know this seems weird and I am supposed to be dead but I need your help, so please hear me out." She decided that ignoring the personal aspect of the whole situation would be best for everybody.

She was trying to find those words when Tony suddenly spoke up. "Good morning Pepper. You are here a bit early don't you think. I mean, I haven't even had any scotch today." His words were teasing but his tone held no such indication. "I was just going to have some coffee this morning but it seems to me as if the appropriate drink for this occasion is something of the more alcoholic sort. Don't move, I will be right back." Then he slipped silently out of the doorway and into the kitchen, leaving Pepper flabbergasted on his couch.

Pepper's already bruised heart began to chip away into small pieces with his words and their implications. Did he think she was a hallucination? Has he been having many hallucinations of her? Had he really lost touch with reality so much that he couldn't tell the difference between truth and fiction? Finally the last comment broke through her heart-broken haze and a clenching feeling of guilt filled her. He has been drinking, and from what she could gather by his comments, he has been drinking a lot.

Tony stumbled back into the room, a glass of what looked like scotch in his hands. She felt a small amount of relief at the sight of a full glass instead of a bottle. He was leaning against the wall and watching her with a combination of tenderness and depression. Taking a sip of his drink, he finally said, "You looked dressed up today. I can't remember when you ever wore that." Another gulp of scotch. "Well, Miss Potts what is today's occasion? The anniversary of the last day you held my hand? Or maybe today is the seventh month anniversary of the day you and I danced? I really am at a loss, please enlighten me." His tone was so politely conversational that she shivered but was finally able muster the courage to speak.

"Tony," she marveled at how hoarse her voice sounded to her ears. There was a sound of shattering glass, he had dropped the scotch from his hand. He seemed shocked by her voice, whether by its tone or the fact that she was speaking at all, she was unsure. "Tony, I need your help." She stood up off the couch and made her way progressively closer to him. He now seemed unsure and slightly frightened, she was certain that he would have been backing up if his back wasn't already to the wall. "I can't imagine what you are feeling right now. And I know that this is probably a big shock but I am really here. I'm not dead and I really need your help." He was still silent and unmoving, it was scaring her. "Please say something Tony."

"No." He said mutedly as he imperceptibly balled his hands into a fist. His eyes now finally showed some emotion: anger.

Pepper stopped midstride. "What?"

"No, you are not doing this to me. Not again, not ever again." He looked like he wanted to put his hands over his ears and scream "I can't hear you. I can't hear you.". He resisted but still staunchly refused to look her in the eyes even though she was trying to catch his gaze with all her might.

"Tony, listen. I am really here and you need to believe that." She was within reach of him now and drew out her hand to touch him. She was a little afraid of what would happen when she finally did. They didn't often touch when she had worked with him and whenever they did the touches were always 

filled with thousands of meanings. He could do anything from grab her tightly or flinch away from her touch, she tried to decide which would hurt her more.

She never got to find out though because he dodged her incoming hand before she even got a chance to brush against him.

"Stop it now. This isn't funny." He was definitely angry now and Pepper could tell that the anger was growing at a pretty steady rate. She, however, had seen Tony in all forms of anger (some actually directed at her) and so she wasn't deterred too much.

"Your right this isn't funny and I'm not laughing." She attempted again to at least place her hand on his but he jumped just out of her reach again. She made another feeble lunge and he dodged her again. If anyone had walked in on them at this very moment they would have been greeted by the comic sight of Tony and Pepper playing a strange sort of tag. Him dodging and avoiding her hand like she had the plague. Finally he jumped into the corner of the room, he had nowhere to go.

"Tony, you have to calm down." With that she finally grabbed his hand firmly into her own. He froze, eyes riveted on her soft finger wrapped around his palm. They both reveled in the feeling of each other, both trying to deny the amazing magnitude of longing they went through while apart. Then, without warning, he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and grasped her to his chest, so tight that the air whooshed out of Pepper like a tire. He held onto her like she was going to disappear at any moment. He held onto her like she was his last lifeline and he was drowning. He held onto her like (God help her), like he loved her more than anything else in the world and feared losing her again more than anything else in the world.

She let herself meld into his warm body and for a moment she let all of her numerous worries fade into the back of her mind, feeling content and safe for the first time in months. Despite all of the unsaid things and uncertainty that was a part of their relationship, Tony was her best friend and she had deeply missed him. And she was sure that he had as well, to a greater degree undoubtedly.

Then, just as suddenly, he released her from his grip and gently pushed her back. "Pepper?" His eyes held confusion, anger, betrayal, worry, and (her heart gave a flutter) joy.

"Yeah, it's me." She suddenly felt self-conscious and let her gaze fall to her feet. Tony stared down at her, Pepper had a fleeting wish for her old footwear. When she finally returned his gaze, she was surprised to find that the anger had returned full force but gratefully it seemed to be controlled, although only by a hair.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Come on. Sit down. You look dead tired and I feel like I am about to fall on my ass."

He led her gently to the couch, both finally registering the broken glass of scotch. Pepper gave him a look that clearly said she felt bad about causing its demise. He waved his hand in dismissal. "I'll take care of that later, for now I have a dead woman in my house who looks like she is about to faint." Pepper flinched slightly at the words 'dead woman'.

Sitting down on the couch Pepper let Tony kneel down on his knees to better examine her. Taking in her appearance and trying to decide whether or not she was healthy. He looked up, "Jarvis, how are Miss Potts' vitals?"

A familiar voice filled the room. "Heart rate is slightly elevated. Everything else is normal." He continued to search her person, looking for some hidden ailment. After a minute he seemed satisfied and sat back on his heels, clearly wanting to talk.

"I do believe that I deserve an explanation, Miss Potts."

Pepper swallowed visibly, she was worried about this. She knew that any way she sliced it, this was not a conversation that was going to end well. "What do you mean?"

The anger flashed more violently in his eyes but he soon reeled it back in. "Oh, I don't know? How's the family been? When did you get the haircut? Or maybe, I want to know where the fuck you have been for the past six months when I was here thinking you were dead!"

She cringed and kept her eyes closed tight, dreading what she had to say. "I can't tell you." She cautiously opened her eyes. Tony may have well exploded.

"What the hell do you mean you can't tell me!" He practically roared as he got up on his feet to tower over her. "Do you have any idea what I went through while you were gone? Do you? I was out of my mind! My life was a living hell. Now you show up here out of the blue and you can't even tell me where you have fucking been! Do you even know? I was going to-" He stopped suddenly, his chest heaving.

Pepper's eyes were once again filled with tears, one breaking free and traveling slowly down her cheek to pool at her chin. "Tony, I am so sorry, but I can't-"

"You can't what?" He was on a roll again. "You can't give me a moment's consideration. You can't care about my feelings for one god-damn second. You can't think about the emotional rollercoaster I have been on for the past few minutes. What is it!"

Pepper was now on her feet as well, flushed and breathing heavily. "Tony you don't understand."

She didn't get any further though because at that moment a pretty, dark-haired girl walked into the house. "Hey, Tony. There's some guy outside from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, god I can't even remember the rest. He's a suit from the government. He says-". She stopped short, finally looking up. Her eyes widened as she saw her boss in an obviously heated argument with his dead former assistant.

Pepper head swung around to face the new girl and a look of annoyance passed over her face. "Shit. They found me."

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AN: I know, another cliffhanger. The next chapter will explain mostly everything and it will be up Sunday night.


	5. Learning

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Chapter: Learning  
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man

AN: I am so sorry, I know I promised to update in a day but my roommate was in an accident that involved way too many fireworks and a low hanging tree. Anyway to make a long story short I spent most of Sunday and today, waiting on my crap ass roommate. Anyway. This chapter isn't my favorite, a lot of dialogue and plot but the next chapter will have lots of Tony/Pepper goodness. So please review, so I can show my roommate that I do have more important things to do than catering to her every whim. Enjoy!

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When Tony was twelve he took a college semester of astronomy, just to broaden his already extensive knowledge of the sciences. He had never really been interested in the particular study of astronomy. He went to the classes, barely paid attention, and got the highest grade in the class; but it never really sparked any huge interest in him. Probably because it required Tony to realize that, on a universal scale, he was incredibly insignificant; a thought that has never sat well with him. Despite his ambivalence towards the study, one lesson did stick with him for a long time. Starlight. Tony was fascinated to learn that the star's light that we see at night was actually billions of years old. The light that emanated from the stars had to travel for billions of light years so that by the time it reached Earth, the star had already been burning for an eternity. This thought had intrigued Tony and for a while he found himself imagining being on Earth when it was only hundreds of years old. He imagined being in complete and total darkness, lost in the shadows of space. He imagined, slowly, watching the night sky begin to light up with small fireflies of light; until the whole sky was as bright as day. He wished, in the small and secret way that boys do, that one day he could see something like that. He could see the darkness that he came from and witness the gradual enlightenment and expansion of his world. Never had he really experienced anything that came close to what he had been imagining.

Until Pepper Potts came back into his life.

Tony knew that when she was gone, he went into his darkest and most depressing period of his life. Every day was an emotional rollercoaster. He was sick to his stomach on almost a daily basis. He would fall into horrible bouts of depression that would disallow him any productive activity. He would sometimes have fits of horrible rage, so bad that he would physically have to destroy something (many brave robots died in the line of duty). And sometimes, he would feel absolutely nothing and pray to the God he hated for some sort of feeling.

So when Pepper said his name for the first time in months, the first little star flickered to life. When she grabbed his hand, a dozen more filled the sky. When he crushed her to his body and held onto her for dear life, the sky began to glow softly with the pinpricks of light.

He was finally able to see clearly for the first time in a long time; and so, when two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents burst through his door like it was on fire, he had pretty good reaction time.

The two men who burst into his house were so ridiculously clichéd "government" types that Tony was a little annoyed that they had decided to perpetuate such a stereotype. They had short haircuts, not quite crew cuts but not as long as Tony's hair. They wore cheap-looking suits and appropriately tacky ties. They had forgetful faces that were currently contorted into a look of exasperated annoyance.

The younger of the two agents saw the scene playing out and he threw up his hands in annoyance. "God damn. We are so screwed!" He barely looked old enough to carry a gun let alone be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

The older of the two men was able to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. His eyes darted between Tony and Kat before landing decidedly on Pepper. The man walked furiously forward, reaching into his charcoal suit pulling out his id. "Mr. Stark, my name is Louis Tunney and this is my partner David 

Sinclair. We're from S.H.I.E.L.D." He flipped his badge like a pro, barely giving Tony time to see the flashing identification. "We understand that this all must be very confusing for everyone and we will happily explain everything. But we need to get to a more secure location, for everyone's safety."

Pepper opened her mouth and made a disgruntled noise that Tony had never heard before. Tony was surprised to find that she had crossed the room and was inexplicably moving closer to Tunney. The agent turned to Pepper. "And you. Pepper, you of all people should have known why we need to get a safer place."

Pepper's eyes were filled with a familiar fire, one that was usually directed at Tony. He couldn't help but feel a strange combination of jealousy and gratefulness that she was looking that way at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "This is ridiculous Louis. You guys are getting nowhere fast and I am not going to spend the rest of my life moving from place to place."

Louis put his hands on his hips. "We are doing all we can to keep you safe and this is how you thank us. The number one rule we give you is do not contact Mr. Stark and who do you go running to the second we take our eyes off you?"

"Stop it! You know he is the only one who can help us." Her hands were now also on her hips, her stance defiant and assured.

Tony had watch the whole exchange with confusion and interest before he finally intervened. "HEY!" Everyone's head swung around to stare at the uncharacteristically confused Tony. "We aren't going anywhere. You." He pointed at the two agents. "Are going to come with me into my office and tell me why the hell my 'dead' assistant has suddenly appeared in my house. You." He pointed at Pepper. "Are going to come as well and fill me in on why you let me think you were dead. And you." He pointed to Kat, who had been standing in the same spot unmoved for the past five minutes. "Are going home."

Katrina finally found her voice. "Wait a minute. I am not going anywhere and you can't make me." She wasn't mad (Katrina didn't get mad) she sounded more like a stubborn child.

Tony's nerves were already frayed and he knew that he would be taking it out on Katrina if she pushed this. "Uh, yes I think I can considering I am your boss and this is my house."

"No. Jim put me in charge of your care and I have a feeling you are going to need my help." She let her eyes flick over to the agents and Pepper.

"What makes you think I need your help?" Tony asked, wanting to shut her down as soon as possible.

Kat pointed over to Pepper, saying, "She said that they," gesturing over to the men, "need your help, which I am guessing would probably involve some sort of Iron Man/War Machine intervention. And considering that your suit still has some major flaws and most of your robots have been turned into scrap metal, it is reasonable to presume that you could use an extra pair of hands. Especially if the hands are attached to a brain with a genius IQ. Plus, if you use Jim's help in this there is no way I am leaving his side." And with that she crossed her arms over her chest, the message loud and clear: 'Argument over'.

Tony rubbed his eyes, he didn't have the energy for this. "Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "but if those men in black disappear you in the middle of the night don't blame me."

Sinclair raised his hand and four pairs of angry eyes turned to him. "We don't do that kind of thing anymore." Everyone practically groaned at the agent.

Tunney cracked his knuckles. "Why don't you go guard the perimeter or something, David." Looking like a whipped puppy, the boy (Tony could hardly imagine calling him a young man) dejectedly went outside.

"Come on," Tony said as he began to head into his office. When all four were in the office they settled into the chairs; Tony behind his desk, Pepper in one of the chairs across from him and Tunney in the other, Katrina sat in a chair by the door.

Tunney folded his hands and jumped right into it. "Look, Stark. This is some serious stuff, even the president doesn't know about things like this." He cleared his throat. "And I hope that I can trust that you will not be talking about this beyond this room," he paused and as an afterthought added, "lives could be at stake."

Tony nodded seriously and Tunney continued, "Since the beginning of the Gulf War, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been covertly watching the U.S.A.'s top weapons manufactures." He paused and had the decency to look away. "Your company included. Anyway, in our line of business catching any of the company's in double dealing is a tricky business. We suspected Stark Industries of selling under the table for years but we were never able to prove it." Tony clenched his hands and had to stop himself from yelling at the agent for not telling anyone about their suspicions. He wondered if the entire world knew that he was funding terrorism. "For the past couple of years, Chambers Inc. has come up on our radar for what we believe having close ties to the terror organization the Ten Rings, the same one that kidnapped you a year ago." Tony's heart stopped. He felt the overwhelming feeling of fury as Tunney's words filled his head. He stood up abruptly and stared out the window, his hands in his pockets. He could feel their eyes on him, he tried to control the raging emotions. He waved his hand, signaling for the man to continue.

There was the sound of uncomfortable shifting. "Well, we have been watching them closely but again we had no evidence against them. Until you decided to get involved in the company. We believe that, due to a secretarial mistake, Pepper was sent papers that would incriminate the CEO of the company, Justin Chambers." The pieces began to fall into place and Tony didn't even need to hear the rest of the words coming from the agent's mouth. Undoubtedly the bastard, Chambers put a hit out on Pepper to stop any evidence of his double dealing from coming to the attention of the authorities or even worse Tony. His gut clenched, he could hardly believe how close he had come to partnering with another company dealing under the table. After Pepper's death, the negotiations had fallen through due to Tony's lack of ambition towards anything business related. He couldn't believe how close he had come.

"How come Pepper is still alive?" Tony turned suddenly. "I mean, everyone was convinced, I was convinced, that Pepper was…was gone. How did you manage to convince a registered genius, hundreds of reporters, and every person who owned a television that she was dead."

Pepper finally spoke up, "It was just dumb luck." She dropped her gaze, her eyes glazed over with tears. "I asked one of the secretaries to go to my house to pick up the papers. I was running late and I really didn't want to miss Chambers, so I called Stark Industries and had one of my friends, my friend Sarah, her name was Sarah, pick up the papers from my house." She took a moment to compose herself. "She was a redhead like me. They got us confused." A single tear drifted down her cheek and she quickly batted it away. She shook her head and was able to speak in a clearer voice. "I had suspected I was being followed for a few weeks and I had called Agent Coulson, apparently after that he had S.H.I.E.L.D. follow me because as soon as I left Stark Industries they took me away and put me in some form of witness protection. I've been in some hick valley town for the past six months." Then almost to herself, "Sarah died because of me."

"And you couldn't tell me all of this, why?" Tony was now standing beside his desk, looking intently at Pepper. Pepper's tear filled eyes only dettered his anger slightly.

"And what? You would have let me leave? You wouldn't have gone off half-cocked attacking Chambers, or worse?" Tony opened his mouth but Pepper cut him off. "Don't even try to argue Tony, you and I both know that you wouldn't have let this be handled by the proper authorities. You would have put yourself and others in danger. I couldn't let anyone else get hurt on my account." She was gripping the seat tightly and Tony could tell that she was on the edge. He let it drop for now.

"Fine." They both broke the intense gaze that they had been pinning on each other, suddenly aware of the tension filling the room. Tony cleared his throat and Pepper fidgeted in her seat. Tony decided to change the subject, "So, then, why are you here now?"

Pepper once again looked at her lap intently. Tunney jumped in for her, "We have to move her, her identity may be compromised." Tony gave him a strange look. "Last week, a man approached Pepper and gave her a letter. There was nothing written on it except for a small red dot in the middle of the paper. We are relocating her to Arkansas tomorrow." Tony felt three pairs of eyes on him but he didn't notice, too busy lost in his thoughts. It was all a bit much to take in at once.

"Well, you're not going." Tony stated simply. "You are staying with me."

Tunney stood up suddenly, "Mr. Stark-" he began but Tony held up his hand stopping him.

"You can't honestly me expect to just let my assistant go off to some back-assed town in Arkansas without putting a stop to it."

Pepper spoke up, "Technically, I'm not your assistant anymore so you don't really have a say in whether I stay or go." If looks could kill Tony was sure Pepper would be dead where she sat.

In a low voice that was nearly a growl, "You and I both know that is not true. Whether or not you work for me, I will always want and deserve a say in what goes on in your life. You owe me that much." Pepper once again gripped the seat tightly. "And I say that you are staying with me." Turning to Tunney, he continued, "I am going to help you, we are going to stop these people if it is the last thing I do. I am personally going to make sure Chambers pays for the people he has hurt."

Kat finally spoke up, "But how? I mean these guys are like the Consortium, you would think that they would have something by now. How are you going to help, I mean no offense Tony but you are Iron Man, not Sam Spade." Tony had to smile a bit, Kat was like some strange little sister he never had and (although he loathed to admit it) she was incredibly good at lightening the mood of most situations.

Tunney was grinning as well, "There may be one way. We have been keeping close tabs on Chambers and we have intel that in a few weeks he will be making a trip to China, supposedly to check on his 'charity' work. We believe he is there trying to peddle weapons to disgruntled farmers, trying to create some anarchy." Tony nodded, understanding very well how chaos aided to the weapons industry. "We were going to send some agents into that area but we are short-handed and the best we can do is a couple of green agents. We aren't expecting very good results."

Pepper finally piped up, a plan already formed in her mind. "But…if Tony Stark also went to China, supposedly to enjoy the Summer Olympics, it wouldn't be too strange if he bumped into a fellow businessman while there. And, Iron Man could do a little investigating on the side."

Tony ran his hands over his goatee, he had to give Pepper her dues. Her plan was clever, if a little sketchy. The details would have to be worked out and there would need to be a lot of work done but it definitely had promise. "I agree, I would be the best person to investigate Chambers, there is no way he will suspect anything from me." He looked at his feet. "I haven't been very…uh…threatening recently. He won't suspect a thing from me." The mood had once again turned sour and both Tunney and Kat were looking anxious to leave. In an appropriate turn, Sinclair came in at that moment.

"So, are we heading back to Manteca?" He stopped in his tracks at the accidental slip.

"No, David. We are going back to Sacramento. Pepper is staying here with Mr. Stark." Tunney stood up abruptly and held Pepper's hand. "Pepper, we will definitely be seeing you soon. Please take care of yourself." With that he gently kissed her hand, making Tony clench his fists, and left the house. Leaving Tony, Pepper, and Kat to themselves. Tony was watching Pepper closely, trying to gauge her relationship to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Kat looked between the two and decided that now was her time to bow out. "Well," neither of them even glanced at her, "this has been a really weird day but that doesn't mean work stops." She stood and gathered her things. "I am going to head over to Stark Industries and see if I can get some information on the Olympics, you know get in touch with my Asian roots." She caught Tony's eye and gave him a smile. "Take care, okay Tony. I will be by later today, so…you know." And with that she was also gone. Leaving Tony and Pepper alone, well alone if you don't count the rapidly mounting tension in the room.

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AN: Okay, so there was a lot of OC action in this chapter. And i know that the Olympics was kinda from left field but I have been watching them non-stop and I wanted to use them as a background setting. Plus, China is one of the leading countries in tech and so it would make sense that a man like Tony Stark familiarizes himself with the place. Please review.


	6. Letting Go

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Chapter: Letting Go  
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man

AN: Wow, I have been writing a lot lately. No plot here, just Tony and Pepper. I can't make any promises when the next chapter will be up but I will try to update as soon as possible. Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock. Enjoy!

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The worst part about being in witness protection was that, essentially, the person you had been before died. When someone is trying to kill you, you don't hold back on any of the details. You become a completely different person. You change your appearance, your past, your personality. And all of your new friends and acquaintances treat you as such, never even remotely aware that less than a year ago you were someone else entirely.

At first it is hard. You don't automatically respond to your new name. Sometimes you let old stories from your old life slip and you have to pray that your dinner guests aren't the people trying to kill you and that they won't pull out M-80s from their plaid formal dinner jackets, opening their rounds and riddling your body with lead. Of course, this doesn't happen but you learn your lesson. So you stop thinking of yourself as you were and start thinking of yourself as you are. The old you ceases to exist and you become completely immersed in the new persona you created for yourself. You begin to feel less homesick, you begin to forget about your childhood memories, you stop checking your Blackberry every five minutes (you used to expect the copious amount of e-mails that you had become accustomed to).

But, sadly, you can never truly stop being yourself. So at night, when you are totally alone and the lights have long gone off, you sit and imagine what he was doing, what he was thinking, if he was spending as much time thinking about you. You know that these thoughts are useless and you know that they have no practical use in your new life. But thoughts of him become the last thread that you staunchly hold onto. Sometimes, if your day was really hard or if you were just really lonely, you would pull out your secret weapon. You dig through your dresser drawer and at the very bottom of it you find his shirt. The one that was among a pile of your clothes when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents went through your house to grab the necessary items you would need for the first few days. You pull off your pajama top and pull on the shirt. The smell of him had long faded away but it was still the most comforting thing you owned. You would crawl into bed and wake the next morning vowing that the next time you saw him you would find comfort in his actual embrace.

So Pepper was now staring at the very man she had lost hours of sleep to, trying to think of something to say that would cut the choking tension that filled the room. Nothing came to mind because, quite honestly, he was looking ridiculously handsome and months of being away from him had chipped away at the small amount of "resistance" she had to his numerous charms. But right now he was staring at her with millions of emotions dancing in his eyes, his hands in his pockets, and his hair was slightly ruffled. She was simply speechless.

Pepper opened her mouth, willing intelligent words to come out of her mouth. "Tony, I-" but nothing more. An impasse. Too much emotion to express coherently at one time. Too, too much.

Finally, Tony sighed and pulled his hands out of his pockets and ran his hands through his hair. He lowered his gaze and she lowered hers. "Listen, you're probably tired, you should get some rest. You can take the guest bedroom. I have a few calls to make." The words registered but Pepper made no move. Tony groaned and sank into his chair, hands on his temples. "I can't do this right now, okay."

Pepper closed her eyes and was finally able to uproot herself from her spot in the office. She gathered the small duffle-bag she had brought with her, filled with some necessary items like a change of clothes and the like. When she had packed it, she hadn't thought about the significance of bringing it and she didn't want to think about any of her action's deeper meanings now. With her hand on the door handle, she turned and practically whispered, "When you are ready I'll be here."

Tony heard her and snorted, "You'll have to give me some time, I am not used to that." Pepper closed her eyes and was grateful to note that, despite the tight clenching she was feeling in her chest, her eyes were dry. Without another word she opened the door and broken-heartedly walked away from the man she had dreamed about for six months.

She closed the door quickly, so she didn't hear the gasping shuddered that had shadowed her exit.

She made her way slowly over the suddenly alien terrain and marveled how only a few months ago she had been able to direct herself through this house blindfolded. Everything was still the same, nothing had changed, but she felt like this was the first time she had ever been there. Wandering through the house, she made the sudden (and frightening) discovery that she looked just like the women who woke up and wandered the house after a night with Tony. Shaking off her confused expression, she made her way purposely across the house, until she found the guest bedroom.

Opening the door she was struck by the overwhelming smell of Tony. The musky smell made her take in her surroundings with a more detailed eye and she realized that she was in Tony's bedroom, not the guestroom. The fact that she was drawn here probably said a lot about her mental state but again she didn't want to think about it. She stepped in, the general atmosphere that Tony had constructed calling to her. She battled with herself for a moment. She should go to the guestroom, she shouldn't invade his privacy, she didn't want to overstay her welcome, what would he think if he found her in his bed?

All the inner arguing made her more exhausted than she was before (she had driven through the night, so she hadn't slept for more than 24 hours) and she decided that it would be best finished lying down. She gently removed her flats and pulled out her ponytail. Then she practically fell into the downy sheets. The strong smell of Tony quickly comforted her into a restful sleep. She hadn't felt safer in years.

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Tony paced outside the door of his guestroom, his hair damp and his hand twitching at his sides. He had let her sleep for five hours now and he was getting anxious. He had wanted to talk to her the moment that Kat had left but when he saw the death color of her skin and the look of exhaustion in his eyes he knew that their little talk would have to wait. He sent her off to bed like a disobedient child; she really must have been tired because she didn't even give a word of protest. She looked so innocent and sad with her back to him that he had felt his anger begin to ebb away and be replaced by overwhelming affection and longing. He tried to cover up his feelings with biting words but he couldn't stop the choked sighs that followed her retreat. It was all too much to handle.

He needed to stop thinking. He needed to rest his flustered mind and his frayed nerves. He had almost immediately headed down to his workshop, his den, his sanctuary. He tried to work, tried to concentrate on something besides the woman sleeping in his house. So he worked sporadically for a few hours; tinkering, pacing, reading over some layouts, scribbling down notes, doing anything and everything to distract himself. He had to avoid thinking about her because he knew that once he started he wouldn't be able to stop himself from waking her from her slumber. Eventually though, his will gave out and, with a resigned sigh, he wiped his hands on a rag and started his way up the stairs. At the top he realized that he smelled like a mechanic, and not in a good way. For some reason he wanted to look his best when he saw Pepper, a strange sort of self-conciousness. Tony backtracked and took a quick shower, his thoughts only occasionally flicking to Pepper.

So now he found himself bouncing on the balls of his feet outside the door of his guestroom. Trying to gather his thoughts in a coherent way. Nothing came to mind. He decided he to do what he usually did when he had to have a serious conversation, wing it.

He turned the knob and, for some reason, was surprised to find that it was unlocked. Opening the door he was greeted to the sight of…nothing. The room was completely empty, there wasn't a sign that a single living soul had been there in months. Cold terror filled his heart, the sense of terrible loss overcame him and he tore away from the room.

"PEPPER!" He frantically ran to the kitchen, no one. He thought that maybe his parting comment had bothered her and she had gone to a hotel. He ran outside to find that her car was still in the driveway, there were no signs that anyone else had been there recently. He hurried back to the house. "PEPPER! PEPPER!" He ran to the front room, deserted. Maybe he was going crazy again, maybe he was dreaming. "GOD DAMMIT! Don't do this. PEPPER!" He sprinted to his room, his only thought was "please god not again" over and over in his mind. He burst through the door of his room, practically knocking the door off the hinges. He immediate saw Pepper sitting up in bed, her hair ruffled from sleep and her eyes still slightly glazed over. Tony saw her and his heart started beating again.

"Tony," she rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the cobwebs, "what's wrong?" Without another word he crossed the vast room in a few strides and hauled her out of bed. He pulled her swiftly into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Pepper stiffened for only a moment then she let herself fall into his embrace. Holding on to him just as tightly, she whispered, "Tony, what happened?"

"It was hell, Pepper." She looked at his neck, confused as to what he was talking about. Tony knew that she was asking about the last five minutes but he had to tell her what the last few months were like. "I was dying, I was dying slowly. It was the worse torture I have ever felt. And when I wasn't feeling the cold knife of guilt and depression in my gut, I felt nothing at all. I couldn't imagine a future for myself, I could hardly imagine what I should wear the next day. I don't think I was even legally human anymore. I probably wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for Rhodey and Kat. They are so damn stubborn. I would wake up every morning, Pepper, and ask myself 'What's the point'" He crushed her tighter to his chest, he didn't even think about whether or not he was holding her too tight. "My life had no point, it was worthless, I was worthless."

Pepper took a deep breath and Tony loosened his grip slightly. "No, Tony, no matter what, your life will never be worthless. You have helped so many people and you will continue to help people with or without me. You are _not_ worthless." She smoothed the hair on his head, trying to console him.

"You don't understand Pepper. I thought you died because of me. You almost did die because of me, it wasn't even because I was Iron Man. It was because of me, Tony Stark. Because you worked for me, for Tony Stark. If it wasn't for me none of this would have happened."

Pepper finally pulled back and caught his gaze. "Stop this now. This is not your fault. I have been blessed to be in your life, and I don't want you to ever think otherwise."

Tony stared into her eyes, not able to comprehend that a woman like her could be even in the same stratosphere as a guy like him. He wondered what he had ever done to deserve a woman like her. Tony's eyes steeled against his raging emotions, he had to make sure that she would never be hurt. He couldn't take it again. "I can't believe that Pepper, you and I both know logically that, if it wasn't for me, you would have never been targeted." He abruptly pulled away from her arms and hardened his heart against her beckoning blue eyes. "That's why, when this is done you are never going to see me again. I can take care of you financially, you won't want for a thing. But after all this," he gestured with his hands wildly, "we-we are done."

He faced her long enough to see tears of shock filled her eyes. Tony turned and left the room, closing the door lightly behind him. He didn't move away though, he stood at the door and leaned his head on the frame, closing his eyes.

Tony was a selfish man, he knew this and accepted it as a part of his personality. He was basically raised that way, always getting whatever he wanted, when he wanted. Never in his life had Tony not gotten what he desired. Right now though, the thing he wanted most in the world was Pepper Potts. Giving up Pepper was the hardest thing he was ever going to have to do. It was like giving away his heart but he did it happily. Because, in the end, his actions were still somewhat selfishly motivated. If anything ever happened to Pepper, Tony knew that he would follow through with his plan. For the past four months Tony had been carefully planning, he had been working non-stop on arc reactor tech, he had been setting up Rhodes as War Machine, and he had been teaching Katrina everything he knew about engineering. He had been preparing all of this because he had planned, on January 15, 2009, to take his own life, the same day Pepper had "died". He couldn't go through that again. If she died for real he wouldn't be able to wait a year. So he gave her up, for the greater good. He had to.

Little did Tony know, the woman he had just given up was standing just on the other side of the door, her head also leaning against the frame, in the exact same position as his. She was standing there, vowing that she would never spend her life without Tony Stark. Knowing that a life without him really wasn't a life at all, it was just surviving. Now all she had to do was convince him of that.

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AN: Oooo, Pepper has to get her man. Please review.


	7. Protecting

Title: Across the Universe  
Author: chocolatemooses  
Chapters: Fighting  
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man...you win this time Stan Lee.

AN: Another day another chapter. Sorry this one took so long, I got a little stuck towards the end. Please review it helps me so much and it really motivates me to write more. Enjoy.

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Justin Chambers was in love. Madly in love. She was everything to him; beautiful, brilliant, and utterly ruthless. Before her, he had only dated idiots, trophy wives, arm candy. That was the only category he had thought women really fitted into; the smart ones were always cows. Until she came into his life he had never felt the need for…anyone. He had seen people as morons or competition; he still thought the same of the general population. But not her, she was perfect. She had walked into his life with those stiletto shoes of hers and no shit attitude and blown him away.

Now he was bent over her (and his desk) breathing like he had just run a mile. His pants and boxers hovered somewhere around his knees, he was still fully clothed from the waist up and his shirt was only slightly stained with sweat. Stacey had hardly removed a single item of clothing, her skirts bunched up around her stomach (she had gone without pantyhose today, to Justin's delight). Only one button on the top of her once crisp but now slightly damp white blouse was undone, a testament to how little patience her lover had when it came to lunchtime rendezvous.

She was patting his hair absent-mindedly, running her fingers through his scalp. Justin picked up a golden curl that danced in front of his eyes. He wrapped it around his finger, in a similar way she wrapped him around hers. He pulled it gently and it bobbed like a spring. "I like it better when you straighten your hair. You look more frightening that way. When you wear it like this you look like you are five."

Stacey hardly blinked at his comment and shot back, "I enjoy actually having an orgasm during my lunch break, so we can't always get what we want, can we?" Justin rolled his eyes and pulled back from her, falling back into his big black chair. She was unperturbed by his departure and calmly lifted her panties from their place around her ankles and lowered her skirt. The only evidence of their recent activity being the still unbutton button on her shirt.

Justin lolled his head back, "Give me a minute." He was mildly annoyed at the look she gave him, he didn't like thinking that he couldn't please her but he really was too tired to anything about it right now.

"Forget it," she was now teetering on the edge of his desk, her Blackberry suddenly in her hand. "You have a meeting in fifteen minutes and you can't miss this one."

Justin finally brought his eyes to her and gave her, what he thought was, a charming grin. "Do I ever?"

Her eyebrow quirked up but only said, "Indeed." Justin reached down and lifted his pants half-heartedly, still hoping for a quickie before he left.

"You coming to the house later tonight?" Stacey didn't answer him, she completely ignored him. He was getting frustrated by her attitude and his anger was escalating pretty quickly. He repeated himself, only for her.

Stacey still didn't look at him but did answer, "What's the point, from today's performance I can't imagine having a great time."

In a flash, Justin was on his feet and grabbing hold of the wrist that was typing away on the phone. He squeezed tightly, and she met his eyes with her steel blue ones. He backed her up against the desk, his grip so tight that he was positive there would be bruises. He hoped there would be bruises. In a dangerous voice he said, "Don't fuck with me, Miss Keller." She hardly flinched, even when his hand began to travel up towards her neck.

"Really," she said snidely, "that's what I thought you wanted me to do."

Justin's hand reached her neck and he held it tightly, enough for it to hurt but she was still able to breathe, barely. "You know, I could kill you with my bare hands. Without even trying."

"You won't do it."

Justin squeezed tighter and she gasped in. "Oh, really. How do you know that?"

"Because you love me."

Justin stared at her and she glared back. He gave her a parting squeeze before letting her go and leaning back into his chair. "I don't have anyone else but you." He said it plainly without emotion. He probably didn't love her, but he could stand her presence and she tolerated him. He was human, to some extent, and he didn't particularly relish being alone all his life. He was using her and she was using him, but what for he wasn't entirely sure.

Stacey was rolling her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, I know." She was back to typing away, like his threat against her life had never happened. "But I still can't come over tonight. You are leaving tomorrow at noon for Beijing, or did you forget?" She peered at him and Justin sighed loudly.

"Yeah I did forget." Stacey finally put down her phone and crossed over to him, sitting on his lap. She patted his hair gently.

"You can't forget, this is incredibly important, baby. You can't let yourself lose focus, it will ruin everything you've worked for."

"I know, I know. You tell me all the time. You know, after the whole China thing, I think we should get married. Don't you?"

Stacey sighed. "Sure baby. We'll get married after the China thing. I promise." She kissed him on the lips. "Just take care of that first, okay. For me."

Justin buried his head into her soft cradle of her cleavage. "You love me, don't you?"

Without missing a beat she replied, "Sure, sure I love you." He didn't believe her but she said it when he wanted her to and that was all he wanted.

"Good."

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"Morning, or should I say good evening."

"Holy shit!" Tony had wandered into the living room, the day's events still a little hazy in his mind, and was surprised to find two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Katrina sitting calmly on the couch. He leaped five feet in the air, although he would deny it later. "What the hell are you all doing in my house at," he checked the time, "three in the morning?"

Tunney stood. "Chambers is leaving tomorrow."

Tony scrubbed his face, trying to wake up enough to comprehend the meaning of the agent's statement. After he had left Pepper in his room, he had gone back down to his basement to try to clear his head. He tried to get work done but nothing could push thoughts of Pepper from his frazzled mind. He knew, he knew in his heart, that he could only bring turmoil to Pepper's life but, as time went on, his reasons became less and less convincing. Eventually he realized that no work would get done with the state of mind he was in. So he had tiredly come upstairs, where he had discovered his guests.

Finally he replied, quite intelligently, "Huh?"

"Chambers. We don't know why but he is leaving weeks earlier. We've had someone check his bank records, he has rented two penthouse suites in Beijing and Hong Kong for four weeks." Tunney's face became even more grim. "We don't have anything ready for you. We can't get you any backup or anything for at least a couple more days. We need more time."

Tony crossed his arms deep in thought. Katrina watched the scene, "We can arrange everything for Tony in hours. I can get hotel rooms, contacts, and passes to the Olympics without a problem."

Tunney shook his head, "That's not the problem, we assumed Mr. Stark can take care of all that. The problem is we don't have nearly enough intelligence Chambers' schedule. Our hackers haven't even started working on the encrypted files that we have." Tony opened his mouth to speak but Tunney cut him off. "Make no mistake we can hack it but we need at least 24 hours."

"So why don't you arrest him?" Tony asked looking between the agents.

Sinclair finally spoke up, "We have no concrete evidence against him." He shifted his eyes fearfully to the ground. "Well, no evidence that we could hand over to a judge…or the public."

Tony could see where they were going with this and he was going to put a stop to it right now. "No. As far as they know Pepper is dead, and she is safest that way. You are not going to put her in anymore danger."

Tunney approached closer, trying to get through to the man. "Stark, we need to keep him here. If he leaves the country without you there then there is a good chance we could lose him. We have no evidence, even Pepper's testimony wouldn't be enough to get him extradited. If he leaves now, he is gone."

Tony wasn't moved, Pepper was his main concern. "Find another way, because Pepper isn't going to do this."

"Do what?"

Three heads swiveled around to see Pepper standing in the doorway, still in the same summer dress. She looked confused, her sleepy disheveled hair only added to her innocence and made Tony furious that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would even suggest putting her in danger. She repeated, "Do what?"

Before Tony could even say a word, Sinclair replied, "We want you to go public so that we can arrest Chambers long enough to get the intelligence that we need to help Tony when he goes to Beijing."

Tony butted in, "You aren't doing it Pepper. It is too dangerous, it will guarantee that another hit will be put out on you."

Pepper's eyes were clouded over with thought. Tony's stomach plummeted, he could tell that she was considering doing this. He couldn't let her, this was exactly what he wanted to avoid.

"Is this the only option?" She asked the agents even though she was staring at Tony.

Tunney, who hadn't offered his opinion on this idea at all, finally spoke up, "It is the best we can do right now." Tony saw a look in the older agent's eyes that was eerily similar to the one he was wearing. "If you don't want to do it we won't make you. This is your decision entirely."

"No it's not." Tony knew he sounded like a child throwing a tantrum but he didn't care. "I am a part of this and I refuse to go through with it if Pepper puts herself in danger."

"I'll do it."

"What!" Tony was incensed. "You aren't, don't you understand Pepper. When they find out that you are alive they will try to _kill you_ and they won't send amateurs this time."

The look in her eyes was one of steel. "I am not living the rest of my life in hiding and the only way I am going to be able to live without fear is if we stop these people."

Tony let out a frustrated growl. "Can we talk in private?" Tony didn't even wait for her to answer; he grabbed her gently by the arm and pulled her into the hallway. When they were alone he launched his attack. "What are you doing? Why are you putting yourself in unnecessary danger?"

Pepper's voice was just as venomous but she kept her to a reasonable level. "The danger isn't unnecessary. You know that this is the only way we can keep this going."

Tony leaned in closer, she had her shoes off so had a few inches on her and he used it to his advantage. "I am not letting you do this."

Pepper's eyes were glassy but she stood her ground. In wavering voice she said, "You wanted to be out of my life. Well, this is how it is going to be." She turned on her heel but Tony's hand shot out. He spun her around so hard that she slammed into his chest. She quickly recovered and tried to pull away but Tony held fast.

He spoke in a near whisper, "This is not what I meant."

Jerking out of his reach, she back away, keeping her gaze on him. "Well this is how it has to be. If I am out of your life I am out of your life. You can't pick and choose the times you are a part of my life. Either you're in it or you're not. I am not your yo-yo!"

She was breathing hard now and Tony was fascinated by the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. He was soon distracted by the red flush that covered her cheeks and neck. He didn't even realize what he was doing until he was halfway there.

Without preamble, he cupped her by the nape of her neck and brought his lips crashing down on hers ferociously. He vigorously attacked her mouth, even as she stiffened in surprise. After a moment though she began to respond with the same vigor and she brought her arms up and around Tony's neck. Tony was surprised at how warm and soft she felt in his arms, he was melting in her embrace. He gently ran his tongue over her lips, asking her permission.

This seemed to click something in her brain because she gasped and pushed him away. Her face was still flushed and her lips were slightly swollen. She was beautiful and she was frightened. She was waiting for him to say something.

"You can't go public, please. It will be easier when you leave later. The world can go back to pretending that Pepper Potts is dead."

Pepper closed her eyes, whether from exhaustion or pain, he was unsure. "Tony, please stop doing this. I can't take it. I care about you Tony." He shuddered slightly, her words having an amazing affect on him. "I want to be with you but you said we can't. Then, then you do stuff like this and I don't understand. It is driving me crazy, you're hurting me." Her eyes were bright with tears but she was too strong to cry now.

Tony lowered his gaze, her tears too much for him. "I don't want to hurt you, I just want you to be safe. I am doing that the best way I know how." Taking a shallow breath he continued, "I stand by what I said before."

Pepper nodded her head even as a she lowered her eyes, her hair becoming a curtain and shielding her face from his searching gaze. "Then I am sticking by what I said before. If you want to be a part of my life and my decisions all you have to do is say so but right now I can't handle all this." Her gaze burned him as him as she stared him down. Her tone was similar to the one she used when Tony was being particularly troublesome. "As of this moment, Mr. Stark, my life is exceedingly complicated and our relationship is something that must, for the good of everyone, be put on the backburner." She grabbed him by the collar and forced him to pay attention to every word coming out of her mouth. Tony was startled by this massive moods swing but he still hung on every word coming out of her mouth. "But make no mistake. We will be discussing this," she gestured between them, "even if I have to tie you down to do so." With that she swiftly turned and walked out of the hallway, batting at her face with her hands in an attempt rid herself of her tears.

Tony watched her leave the hallway and leaned his body against the wall. He sighed loudly and scrubbed his face once again, using his blunt nails to scratch the sides of his face. He was getting sick of the emotional rollercoaster ride he was on and he felt guilty that he was pulling Pepper along with him. He tried to steel himself against the emotions that were coursing through his veins.

Reentering the room, Tony was unsurprised to find the attention of the room immediately centered on him. He met Kat's eyes, everyone else was too emotional for him and she was the most stable choice right now. She gave him a half smile as he sat on the arm of the couch.

"So what do we do now?" Tony was furious still but he could see that Pepper was not going give in. He knew that he was going to have to be in this 100 percent now with Pepper's safety on the line.

Katrina clapped her hands. "Well, it looks like I have a press conference to organize."

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AN:I hope that Chambers and Keller were creepy enough. I really tried to make them like a sick version of Tony and Pepper, sort of like a contrast to our favorite couple. I really don't like that ending but I didn't want to get into the press conference yet so... Please R&R! And yes, I know Pepper didn't wok as hard to get her man but, realistically, she has more important things to focus on right now. Like stopping terrorism, so you know, romance kinda goes on the backburner for a moment. But don't worry, life-threatening moments breed romance and there will be many life threatening moments for our heroes.


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